U.S. patent number 10,061,630 [Application Number 15/274,875] was granted by the patent office on 2018-08-28 for image forming apparatus that ensures operation while hdd is inoperative, and recording medium therefor.
This patent grant is currently assigned to KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.. Invention is credited to Masahiro Suzuki.
United States Patent |
10,061,630 |
Suzuki |
August 28, 2018 |
Image forming apparatus that ensures operation while HDD is
inoperative, and recording medium therefor
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes an HDD, an HDD confirming
unit, a system control unit, and a non-volatile semiconductor
storage device. The HDD stores user data created by a user. The HDD
confirming unit determines whether or not the HDD is in an
inoperative state. The system control unit separates the HDD from
the image forming apparatus to set the image forming apparatus to a
restriction mode when the HDD is in the inoperative state. The
non-volatile semiconductor storage device stores system data used
for an operation of the system control unit.
Inventors: |
Suzuki; Masahiro (Osaka,
JP) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc. |
Osaka |
N/A |
JP |
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Assignee: |
KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
(Osaka, JP)
|
Family
ID: |
57394322 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/274,875 |
Filed: |
September 23, 2016 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20170109220 A1 |
Apr 20, 2017 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Oct 20, 2015 [JP] |
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2015-206114 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/0685 (20130101); G06F 11/0793 (20130101); G06F
11/0733 (20130101); G06F 3/0617 (20130101); G06F
3/0629 (20130101); G06F 11/073 (20130101); H04N
1/32646 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
11/07 (20060101); H04N 1/32 (20060101); G06F
3/06 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;714/6.11,23 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2002-149500 |
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May 2002 |
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JP |
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2012-8861 |
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Jan 2012 |
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JP |
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Other References
Extended European Search Report dated Feb. 7, 2017, issued by the
European Patent Office in corresponding application EP 16193848.5.
cited by applicant .
Japanese Office Action dated Mar. 3, 2018, issued by the Japanese
Patent Office in corresponding application JP 2015-206114. cited by
applicant.
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Primary Examiner: Patel; Kamini B
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Stein IP, LLC
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an HDD that stores user
data created by a user; an HDD confirming unit that determines
whether or not the HDD is in an inoperative state; a system control
unit that separates the HDD from the image forming apparatus to set
the image forming apparatus to a restriction mode when the HDD is
in the inoperative state; and a non-volatile semiconductor storage
device that stores system data used for an operation of the system
control unit, wherein the HDD confirming unit obtains failure
information on the HDD if the HDD does not respond, determines that
the HDD is in an inoperative state if a cut-off flag indicating
necessity for separating the HDD from a system to execute functions
of the image forming apparatus indicates an ON state when obtaining
the failure information, sets a failure history flag indicating
existence of a failure history to the ON state if the cut-off flag
indicates an OFF state when obtaining the failure information, sets
the cut-off flag to the ON state if the failure history flag has
been set to the ON state and the cut-off flag has been set to the
OFF state when the system is booted, and sets the failure history
flag and the cut-off flag to the OFF state if the failure history
flag and the cut-off flag have been set to the ON state when the
system is booted.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further
comprising: a job execution unit that executes a job, wherein the
job execution unit executes the job where user data is storable in
the non-volatile semiconductor storage device in the restriction
mode.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further
comprising: a job execution unit that executes a job; and a
volatile storage device, wherein the job execution unit executes a
job where user data is storable in the volatile storage device in
the restriction mode.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
HDD confirming unit does not determine an inoperative state when a
failure of the HDD has been detected only once, and the HDD
confirming unit determines the inoperative state when the failure
of the HDD is detected again after the image forming apparatus is
booted in a state where the failure of the HDD has been
detected.
5. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing an
image forming program to control a computer of an image forming
apparatus including an HDD and a non-volatile semiconductor storage
device, the HDD storing user data created by a user, the
non-volatile semiconductor storage device storing system data used
for an operation of the computer, the image forming program causing
the computer to operate as: an HDD confirming unit that determines
whether or not the HDD is in an inoperative state; and a system
control unit that separates the HDD from the computer to set the
image forming apparatus to a restriction mode when the HDD is in
the inoperative state, wherein the HDD confirming unit obtains
failure information on the HDD if the HDD does not respond,
determines that the HDD is in an inoperative state if a cut-off
flag indicating necessity for separating the HDD from a system to
execute functions of the image forming apparatus indicates an ON
state when obtaining the failure information, sets a failure
history flag indicating existence of a failure history to the ON
state if the cut-off flag indicates an OFF state when obtaining the
failure information, sets the cut-off flag to the ON state if the
failure history flag has been set to the ON state and the cut-off
flag has been set to the OFF state when the system is booted, and
sets the failure history flag and the cut-off flag to the OFF state
if the failure history flag and the cut-off flag have been set to
the ON state when the system is booted.
Description
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
This application is based upon, and claims the benefit of priority
from, corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-206114
filed in the Japan Patent Office on Oct. 20, 2015, the entire
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the description in this section
is not prior art to the claims in this application and is not
admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Many of typical image forming apparatuses store data in a Hard Disk
Drive (an HDD) as a non-volatile storage device. In this case, when
the HDD becomes inoperative, this may cause the image forming
apparatus to become unusable.
In this respect, there is proposed a following hard disk drive
device. The hard disk drive device gives an instruction of writing
or reading to an HDD and, based on its response time, predicts in
advance whether or not the HDD is inoperative to separately operate
before the HDD becomes inoperative.
SUMMARY
An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the
disclosure includes an HDD, an HDD confirming unit, a system
control unit, and a non-volatile semiconductor storage device. The
HDD stores user data created by a user. The HDD confirming unit
determines whether or not the HDD is in an inoperative state. The
system control unit separates the HDD from the image forming
apparatus to set the image forming apparatus to a restriction mode
when the HDD is in the inoperative state. The non-volatile
semiconductor storage device stores system data used for an
operation of the system control unit.
These as well as other aspects, advantages, and alternatives will
become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading
the following detailed description with reference where appropriate
to the accompanying drawings. Further, it should be understood that
the description provided in this summary section and elsewhere in
this document is intended to illustrate the claimed subject matter
by way of example and not by way of limitation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of an image forming apparatus
according to one embodiment of the disclosure;
FIG. 2A illustrates a process executed by an HDD confirming unit
when a system is booted (including a reboot);
FIG. 2B illustrates a process executed by the HDD confirming unit
when failure information on an HDD is obtained during the system
boot; and
FIG. 3 illustrates a process executed by a job execution unit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Example apparatuses are described herein. Other example embodiments
or features may further be utilized, and other changes may be made,
without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter
presented herein. In the following detailed description, reference
is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part
thereof.
The example embodiments described herein are not meant to be
limiting. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the
present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated
in the drawings, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated,
and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of
which are explicitly contemplated herein.
FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of an image forming apparatus 1
according to one embodiment of the disclosure. The image forming
apparatus 1 includes a control unit 2 and a storage unit 3.
The control unit 2 includes an HDD confirming unit 21, a job
execution unit 22, and a system control unit 23. The image forming
apparatus 1 causes the control unit 2 and the storage unit 3 to
operate to constitute a system to execute functions (for example,
copying, scanning, and printing) of the image forming apparatus
1.
The control unit 2 is, for example, a processor, such as a Central
Processing Unit (CPU), and an execution of a program causes the
control unit 2 to operate as the HDD confirming unit 21, the job
execution unit 22, and the system control unit 23.
System data including the program executed by the control unit 2 is
stored in an SSD (Solid State Drive) 32. The SSD 32 is a
non-transitory computer-readable recording medium. The system data
is read from the SSD 32 to be loaded when a system is booted (the
image forming apparatus 1 is turned on).
The HDD confirming unit 21 determines whether or not the HDD 31 is
in an inoperative state after a failure of an HDD 31 is notified.
The detail will be described later.
The job execution unit 22 executes printing, scanning, and other
jobs of the image forming apparatus 1. For the execution of the
jobs, when the job execution unit 22 stores data (user data)
created by a user for the job, for example, an image read from a
scanner for copying, and the job execution unit 22 stores the data
in the HDD 31 insofar as the HDD 31 is usable.
The system control unit 23 separates the HDD 31 from the system. In
other words, the system control unit 23 disables the HDD 31. In
addition, the system control unit 23 sets an operation mode of the
image forming apparatus 1 to a normal mode or a restriction mode.
The normal mode is a mode where the job is executed after the user
data is stored in the HDD 31. The restriction mode is a mode where
the job is executed in a state where the HDD 31 is separated from
the system. An initial value is set to the normal mode.
The storage unit 3 includes the HDD 31, the SSD 32, and a memory (a
volatile storage device) 33.
The HDD 31 has a storage region that stores the user data (used for
the job) created by the user.
The SSD 32 has a storage region that stores the system data. The
SSD 32 is a non-volatile semiconductor storage device, such as a
flash (registered trademark) memory, and has a limitation on the
number of writings.
The memory 33 is a volatile semiconductor storage device, such as a
Random Access Memory (RAM).
The following describes a procedure of determining that the HDD 31
is inoperative.
FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate processes of the HDD confirming unit 21.
The HDD confirming unit 21 operates when the system is booted
(including a reboot), and when failure information on the HDD 31 is
obtained while the system is booted or while the system is
operating after the booting. When the HDD 31 does not respond in
the process executed by the control unit 2, the failure information
on the HDD 31 is obtained. This causes the control unit 2 to
initiate the HDD confirming unit 21.
The HDD confirming unit 21 uses two flags: a flag HF (a failure
history flag: a flag indicating existence of a failure history);
and a flag CF (a cut-off flag: a flag indicating necessity for
separating the HDD 31 from the system). When the failure history
flag HF indicates "ON," the failure history flag HF means the
existence of the failure history of the HDD 31. When the failure
history flag HF indicates "OFF," the failure history flag HF means
absence of the failure history of the HDD 31. When the cut-off flag
CF indicates "ON," the cut-off flag CF means the necessity for
separating the HDD 31 from the system. When the cut-off flag CF
indicates "OFF," the cut-off flag CF means unnecessity of
separating the HDD 31 from the system.
First, the following describes a process executed when the system
is booted (including the reboot).
As illustrated in FIG. 2A, when the system is rebooted (Step 21a),
the HDD confirming unit 21 firstly confirms whether or not the
failure history flag HF indicates "ON" (Step 21b). The failure
history flag HF indicating "OFF" (No at Step 21b) means the absence
of the failure history of the HDD 31. This causes the HDD
confirming unit 21 to terminate the process without executing
anything, which leads to the continuance of the normal mode.
When the failure history flag HF indicates "ON" (Yes at Step 21b),
the HDD confirming unit 21 branches the process based on a value of
the cut-off flag CF (Step 21c). When the cut-off flag CF indicates
"OFF" (No at Step 21c), this causes the HDD confirming unit 21 to
set the cut-off flag CF to "ON" (Step 21e). At this time, the
failure history flag HF indicates "ON," which means the existence
of the failure history of the HDD 31 at a previous boot. This
causes the HDD 31 to be separated from the system when the failure
of the HDD 31 is detected later. However, the operation mode of the
image forming apparatus 1 is still in the normal mode.
When the cut-off flag CF indicates "ON" (Yes at Step 21c), the HDD
confirming unit 21 sets both the failure history flag HF and the
cut-off flag CF to "OFF" (Step 21d). The cut-off flag CF indicated
"ON" until the previous boot. Nevertheless, the system has been
rebooted without separating the HDD 31 from the system. This means
that the failure of the HDD 31 was not detected at the previous
boot at which the system operated with the cut-off flag CF
indicating "ON." That is, this means that a failure of the HDD 31
detected at the last but one boot has been repaired at the previous
boot. The failure is repaired, which causes a normal operation with
both the failure history flag HF and the cut-off flag CF that are
set to "OFF." That is, the normal mode still continues. As
described above, the HDD confirming unit 21 does not determine an
inoperative state when a failure of the HDD 31 has been detected
only once. The HDD confirming unit 21 determines the inoperative
state when the failure of the HDD 31 is detected again after the
system is booted in a state where the failure of the HDD 31 has
been detected.
It is likely that the failure at the last but one boot was caused
by a file system error and has been repaired at the previous
boot.
Next, the following describes a process executed when the failure
of the HDD 31 is detected.
As illustrated in FIG. 2B, when the failure information on the HDD
31 is obtained (Step 21f), the HDD confirming unit 21 branches the
process based on the value of the cut-off flag CF (Step 21g). When
the cut-off flag CF indicates "ON" (Yes at Step 21g), the HDD
confirming unit 21 determines that the HDD 31 is inoperative. At
this time, the system control unit 23 separates the HDD 31 from the
system to set the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1
to the restriction mode. After the system control unit 23 separates
the HDD 31, the HDD confirming unit 21 terminates the process.
After Step 21h, the HDD confirming unit 21 may set "HF=OFF" and
"CF=OFF" so as to reset both the failure history flag HF and the
cut-off flag CF when the already-separated HDD 31 is exchanged.
The system control unit 23 may reboot the system after the system
control unit 23 separates the HDD 31. In this case, the HDD
confirming unit 21 may not execute the process illustrated in FIG.
2A.
When the cut-off flag CF indicates "OFF" (No at Step 21g), the HDD
confirming unit 21 sets the failure history flag HF to "ON." That
is, the HDD confirming unit 21 causes the system control unit 23 to
separate the HDD 31 from the system when the failure information on
the HDD 31 is obtained again also after the system is rebooted in
the future. Then, the system control unit 23 reboots the system
(Step 21j). At this time, after the execution of the process
illustrated in FIG. 2A, the normal mode still continues.
The above-described process causes the HDD 31 to be separated from
the system when the failure occurs both before and after the system
is rebooted. When the system control unit 23 monitors the value of
the cut-off flag CF to find "CF=ON," the system control unit 23
separates the HDD 31 from the system.
The following describes a process executed by the job execution
unit 22.
FIG. 3 illustrates the process executed by the job execution unit
22. When the job execution unit 22 receives a job request (Step
22a), the job execution unit 22 attempts to execute the job.
The job execution unit 22 checks whether or not the HDD confirming
unit 21 determines that the HDD 31 is inoperative (Step 22b). When
the HDD confirming unit 21 does not determine that the HDD 31 is
inoperative, the job execution unit 22 stores the user data in the
HDD 31 to execute the job (Step 22d) unless the HDD 31 has the
failure (Step 22c). At this time, the image forming apparatus 1
operates in the normal mode.
When the failure of the HDD 31 is detected, the HDD 31 is unusable.
This causes the job execution unit 22 to execute a process similar
to the process executed when the HDD confirming unit 21 determines
that the HDD 31 is inoperative (Step 22c). While the HDD confirming
unit 21 can determine the failure of the HDD 31 based on the two
flags HF and CF, the failure may be detected through the execution
of the job for the first time. Thus, the HDD confirming unit 21 may
determine the existence of the failure by performing the writing in
the HDD 31.
The following describes a process executed when the HDD confirming
unit 21 determines that the HDD 31 is inoperative, that is, when
the system control unit 23 separates the HDD 31 from the system. In
this case, the image forming apparatus 1 operates in the
restriction mode.
The job execution unit 22 checks a size UD of the user data. After
that, the job execution unit 22 checks a free space M of the memory
33. When the relation between the size UD and the free space M is
"UD.ltoreq.M" (Step 22e), the job execution unit 22 stores the user
data in the memory 33 to execute the job (Step 22f). The reason for
checking the free space of the memory 33 is that the free space
varies based on another job when a plurality of jobs are
simultaneously executed. However, the job execution unit 22
executes the jobs one by one, and may employ a value of M having
the largest value for all the jobs to execute many jobs in a state
where the HDD 31 is separated.
When the relation between the size UD and the free space M is
"UD>M," the job execution unit 22 compares an
acceptable-writing-data amount AS of the SSD 32 with the size UD of
the user data (Step 22g). After the comparison, when the relation
between the size UD and the acceptable-writing-data amount AS is
"UD.ltoreq.AS," the job execution unit 22 stores the user data in
the SSD 32 to execute the job (Step 22h). Here, "AS" is the
largest-writing-data amount per one time and is determined to
ensure the maintained lifespan of the SSD 32. However, since the
SSD 32 has the limitation on the number of writings, the job
execution unit 22 may not execute Steps 22g and 22h to maintain the
lifespan of the SSD 32.
When the user data cannot be stored in neither the memory 33 nor
the SSD 32, the job execution unit 22 does not execute the job
(Step 22i).
While, as described above in detail, the image forming apparatus 1
of the embodiment includes the only one HDD 31, the image forming
apparatus 1 uses the system data stored in the SSD 32, which does
not require another HDD instead of the separated HDD. Thus, the
image forming apparatus 1 operates with the HDD 31 automatically
separated from the system when the HDD 31 is inoperative. This
ensures the requirement for, for example, cost reduction and
downsizing.
For example, assume that the jobs are executed one by one in the
restriction mode, and the free space M of the memory 33 is larger
than a space for image data of one paper sheet. This ensures
reliable executions of basic functions, such as copying and
scanning, even if the system control unit 23 separates the HDD 31
from the system.
The disclosure provides the image forming apparatus including the
only one HDD. The image forming apparatus is operable by separating
the HDD while the HDD is inoperative. The disclosure may be
employed by many image-forming-apparatus manufacturers and
image-forming-apparatus users.
While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein,
other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in
the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are
for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting,
with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following
claims.
* * * * *